LA 12:08 Dream The Troubadour
| Posted by on 12/18/2008
What a surprise I had in store! Saturday morning I woke up at my friend’s house in Mt Washington to find that thecure.com announced a free Myspace super secret concert at the Troubadour that evening in West Hollywood. First come first serve.
My friend, Seonaid dropped me at the Troubadour at 11am. I was the 46th person in line. This was the first time I had ever done anything like this. I had never lined up for a band before nor mingled with so many diehard fans. My first (and lasting) impression of LA Cure fans was a great one. They were self-governing the line with a sharpie number system (that the Troubadour in-fact honored) and were a really fun and welcoming group. I met Blanca, T, and Freddy who were right in front of me. They had driven from Anaheim as soon as they woke up that morning. We hit it off right away. We of course shared our favorite songs and stories about the shows we had been to. Most of all we shared a common enthusiasm. Wow, I was in my own little Cure- obsessed world and there were other people in it! The LA fans I met embraced this little gal from Montana and I felt right at home! We settled in for what we thought would be nine-hour wait.
Two hours later and with about 200 people in line, the Troubadour handed out sparkly red wristbands for the show. They cut off the line at 150 and sent us on our way. Oh no! I had been holding a spot for Seonaid. No one had expected that they would give away wristbands so early.
West Hollywood. What a trip. The unofficial gay capital of the US was a fun and cheerful place to kill a few hours. I had my pizza handed to me with a show tune and saw a young handsome man walking with a toy dog in a baby sling. Not only is it a gay capital, but it truly is a dog capital as well. I watched as a bull dog garnered the love of every patron of a certain chic café and a Chihuahua ate from his owner’s lap.
I met Andrew and Crista on Santa Monica blvd. They gave me hope that my friend, Seonaid would still be able to get a ticket for the show if she waited. Rumors that the Troubadour would issue more wristbands were making their way through the Cure fan text-enabled grapevine. Sho drove back across the city to give it a shot.
Told to return only after 7pm, more and more black-clothed fans began to loiter near the Troubadour the later it got. Sho and I, doing our best to be inconspicuous, ducked into a charismatic Italian restaurant next door and had a couple of drinks. (Sho whiskey, me cappuccino.) There, high on energy, we saw Andrew and Crista and met for the first time, Juan. Juan took my compliment of his Morrissey jacket and pretty soon we were rolling in a full-blown Cure conversation.
Outside we convened with Denise and her 11-year-old daughter, Emily. At about 6:30 we got as close as the over bearing bouncers would let us. Then at 7 on the dot, people dashed from all corners of Santa Monica and Doheny to line up. We stood there in anticipation of the Cure event of a lifetime. The energy was palpable.
At this point in the story, I have to leave my friend Seonaid behind. Yes, just as I had to do so at the gates of the Troubadour. Sho and so many other wristband-less fans got shut down and threatened with arrest. Fans were not happy as they watched VIP rock stars and their model girlfriends stroll in past them. I went in with T, Freddy and Blanca and we staked our claim at far stage right: in front of Porl’s position. I was so amazed at how close I was that I took pictures of his pedals. I was so close, I was smooshed up to the stage and my hands were on his inputs (oh that sounds weird) but I’m an audio geek and I couldn’t help but think of the havoc I could wreck there.
Thank you Mr. Bouncer Steve (who had never heard of the Cure before) for letting me keep my super special spot right under Porl’s nose. I was so close I had to lean back when he really jammed out – I could have gotten a black eye from his guitar or knee! They opened with Underneath the Stars and gave old favorites like 10:15 Saturday Night, Pictures of You, Friday I’m in Love, Killing and Arab, Boys Don’t Cry, Without You, and Just Like Heaven a rocking kick. Robert danced playfully to Lullaby. The crowd raised their arms to Elise’s ‘hands in the sky, surrenders it all’ (I thought I was special when I was the only one who did that in the pit at Sasquatch).
But I didn’t cease to feel special the entire night at the Troubadour. They played a full set and they were amazing! Seriously, when was the last time they played a venue this intimate? There were about 150 of us normal folk and 150 VIP rock stars (who the rest of us could care less about even though they included the likes of Kirsten Dunst and Leo DiCap.) I danced my butt off right under Porl’s feet, and it felt like at times he played to me. (Ah, isn’t that how we all feel?) Everyone was totally blissed out: Blanca, Juan, Denise almost cried… Andrew and Crista had a “Do the Hanza” sign that made the Getty website and made Porl laugh.
They played two encores and at the start of the first (are you ready folks?) I gave Porl a rose. The moment that he took it from my hand felt like an eternity burned into my memory. I had attached a note about a secret artistic project that I want to do with their music. In the end I felt silly about pitching an idea that way- like a love struck fan;)
Robert’s nephew videoed from the stage. What a cute kid. He seemed to be having a great time! Eventually this ecstatic experience had to come to an end. New friends, T, Blanca and Freddy went out of their way to drive me to Seonaid’s home (see what I mean about LA Cure fans?). I couldn’t fall asleep for an hour and I was wide-awake in the morning with the same excitement!
Share
